City council recall, Tiverton, Rhode Island (2019)
| Tiverton City Council recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Justin Katz |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| October 10, 2019 |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2019 Recalls in Rhode Island Rhode Island recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
Efforts in Tiverton, Rhode Island, to recall Town Council President Robert Coulter and Vice President Justin Katz were initiated in June 2019. Petitioners submitted enough signatures to put the recalls on the ballot. The recall election took place on October 10, 2019.[1] Both officials were removed from their positions as a result of the recall election.[2]
Recall vote
The recall election took place on October 10, 2019. For the recount elections to count, turnout needed to exceed the amount of votes each recall target received in the last election.
| Robert Coulter recall | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Recall | 1,594 | 95.51% | ||
| Retain | 75 | 4.49% | ||
| Election results via: The Newport Daily News | ||||
| Justin Katz recall | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Recall | 1,589 | 95.21% | ||
| Retain | 80 | 4.79% | ||
| Election results via: The Newport Daily News | ||||
Recall supporters
The recall effort was led by resident William McLaughlin, who ran for town council in 2018. McLaughlin accused Coulter and Katz of failing to represent the will of the people. He cited a policy that removed Open Forum from council agendas during executive sessions. He also cited the hiring of Giovanni Cicione as town solicitor.[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Rhode Island
Recall organizers were required to submit valid signatures equal to 25% of the number of votes the recall target received in the most recent election. Petitioners submitted 625 valid signatures for the recall against Katz and 553 valid signatures in the recall against Coulter. They needed 587 signatures for Katz and 505 signatures for Coulter.[1]
Coulter submitted a request to the Board of Canvassers to invalidate the recall election date on the grounds that he was not properly notified. His request was denied by the board on September 6.[3]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Newport Daily News, "Tiverton Board of Canvassers seeks Oct. 10 recall election date," August 14, 2019
- ↑ The Newport Daily News, "Tiverton voters choose to recall Town Councilors Coulter, Katz," October 10, 2019
- ↑ Newport Daily News, "Attempt to invalidate Tiverton recall election squashed," September 7, 2019
